Over 20 NHS trusts are now in a ‘critical situation’ following the massive staffing shortages resulting from Omicron rapid spread.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said more than 20 of England’s 137 trusts — 15 per cent of the entire health service — have signalled they may not be able to deliver vital care in the coming weeks.
The spokesperson stated that alert levels are not an indicator of how pressures were being applied to the health care system. It only gives a glimpse into the past.
The doctors said that while critical incidents could last as little as an hour, or even a few hours in certain situations, they can also last for days. However, there are some that can go on for longer periods of time. These incidents aren’t necessarily an indicator of how well the NHS performs.
Although the full list has not yet been released, it is known that some trusts have raised alarm such as North East Ambulance Service and Dorset County Hospital.
Staff can be asked to take leave, or to rest on days for critical situations. If they raise the alarm, help will come from local hospitals.
The Prime Minister revealed yesterday that hospitals across the country had cancelled their operations, and plans were being made to call the Army in case the situation worsens.
According to the latest data, approximately 10% of NHS staff were away on New Years Eve. Covid was responsible for half of those 110,000 absences.
It is likely that the situation will get worse before getting better with an average of 183,000 Brits going into isolation per day.
There are growing calls from experts, businesses and even NHS leaders themselves to cut self-isolation to five days to avoid paralysing the economy and disrupting vital services. As the virus continues to spread, train services and bin collection are also at an all-time low. Schools are warning they might not have enough teachers to keep up with their usual schedules.
France and the US have already reduced quarantine from five to five days for people without symptoms. Studies show that very few patients become infected beyond that limit.
As the staff absents continue to make the NHS and rail services crumble, around 1.3 million Britons currently are under house arrest.
Today’s medics warned of ‘outdated” rules for isolating Covid victims’ contacts. This could lead to clogging hospitals and poor healthcare.
The guidelines — originally implemented to prevent the spread of Covid in hospitals — are out of step with knowledge on the virus, making it difficult to move patients within hospitals, blocking discharges and tying up entire wards, they said.
A minimum of half-a dozen English trusts have reported ‘critical incidents’, indicating they might not be able to provide vital care for patients over the next few weeks due to so many doctors being away isolating.
In England, there have been nearly 100,000 positive Covid tests per day for the past two weeks. The number of people in hospitals with this virus remains at a fraction the rate seen last winter. However, deaths are still low.
According to the spokesperson of PM, “We are aware that there are many trusts which have reported serious incidents.”
“I think it is more than 20, but this number could fluctuate. However, the severity of these critical care incidents can differ. Some can affect one trust and others can impact the entire trust. It’s therefore not an indicator of the performance of any NHS service at one point in time.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister revealed that hospitals have cancelled their operations. He also said plans were being made to call the Army in case the situation worsens.
A number of non-urgent procedures at Greater Manchester’s 17 hospitals were canceled after health officials stated that 15% of staff had stayed at home while Covid was being administered.
Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation — an organisation which represents trusts — said he would support cutting Covid isolation to five days to reduce pressure on the health service as long as it was backed up by the science.
And Covid hospitalisations are adding to hospital pressures, with 2,258 admissions recorded on December 28, up 56.9 per cent in a week, while the number of patients in hospital reached 17,726 on Tuesday — the highest figures seen since February.
A third of admissions however are “incidental cases”, which refer to those who have not been admitted for the virus but were accidentally positive.
This is compared to the 30,000+ people who were admitted to hospital in January last year.
At the height of last winter’s second wave, nearly 40K Britons were admitted to hospital.
Today, doctors warned that the NHS was adding misery and “crippling” the NHS by imposing guidelines for isolating infected patients.
The current NHS Guidelines state that inpatients who are exposed to an infected patient while being admitted must be separated from other patients and kept together until they have recovered.
All patients are subject to this rule, regardless of whether or not they were fully vaccinated. The same rule applies if the patient is discharged to a care home — they must be isolated for the remainder of the 14-day period.
Pat Cattini is an infection control nurse from the Royal Marsden NHS foundation Trust. She told the Health Service Journal that the guidance was never updated despite changing epidemiology and crippling healthcare.
Covid testing regulations could be relaxed to counter the destruction of essential services in the country caused by thousands upon thousands of employees trapped in isolation. Pictured at 08.15 this morning: Waterloo Station deserted
With the peak in the outbreak, the NHS workers took three times the time to get sick than office workers. This is a difference that hasn’t been seen since.
Some pharmacies are out of test and they say that it might take weeks before they get any more.
Former president of Infection Prevention Society Ms Cattini called for this issue to be reviewed “urgently” and warned that the rule was a ‘great driver of bed pressure”.
The HSJ reported that the issue has been raised with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England national directors.
A London hospital consultant added: ‘So many patients are turning positive at day one/two/three/four — admitted as non-Covid but incubating Covid — that it is causing devastation because of contacts and blocked beds.
It is simply more difficult to manage than Delta because of the complexity. [high] infectivity… [Trusts]Assessments of risk and strategies are necessary to be able to adapt.
Consultant warned hospitals that they are running out of Covid and non Covid capacity.
One senior consultant from another hospital said that it created another headache in bed management because there is a new stream of patients who need to be seperated.
“This problem grows because the care homes don’t accept patients until they have completed their 14-day waiting period, which can delay discharge.
UKHSA spokeswoman said that the current guidance was in place to limit Covid’s spread to NHS staff and vulnerable individuals.
“We will continue to partner with NHSEI in reviewing the guidance, and we will make any necessary changes.
This is because hundreds of care homes across the country have been forced to shut down for new residents due to Omicron-fuelled staffing shortfalls and Covid epidemics.
Some 70 per cent of homes run by the MHA — one of the UK’s largest not-for-profit care homes — are currently not accepting new residents, or 62 out of 84 homes.
And at Four Seasons Health Care — one of the country’s largest providers — 40 per cent of homes are not taking patients, or 54 out of 135 homes.
MailOnline received information from sources within the sector that indicated that about a third (33%) of all homes in America are not able to accommodate new residents as a result of Covid regulations.
Under current rules, homes cannot take on new patients for 28 days after they have detected an outbreak of the virus — when two or more cases are detected.
The top NHS leader warned hospitals that too many emergency rooms could lead to overcrowding and render them unable or unwilling to discharge their patients.
Ministers are being urged by care organizations to shorten the quarantine time. They claim it is not in line with other countries. In England, self-isolation is possible after 7 days. There are two negative lateral flow test.